Nannaria conservata Chamberlin, 1940

Means, Jackson C., Hennen, Derek A. & Marek, Paul E., 2021, A revision of the minor species group in the millipede genus Nannaria Chamberlin, 1918 (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Xystodesmidae), ZooKeys 1030, pp. 1-180 : 1

Nannaria conservata Chamberlin, 1940 Fig. 109 Vernacular name: "The Duke Forest Twisted-Claw Millipede"

Nannaria conservata Chamberlin 1940: 56. Chamberlin and Hoffman 1958: 40. Wray 1967: 152. Shelley 1974: 111. Shelley 1975: 180, figs 1-6. Shelley 1978: 66, figs 67-69. Hoffman 1999: 366. Shelley 2000: 196. Marek et al. 2014: 36. Means et al. 2021: S69.

Material examined.

United States - North Carolina • 1 ♂ ; Franklin County, near Moccasin Creek , 1.5 miles SW of Pilot; 35.8625°N, - 78.2683°W; 2 May 1959; L. Hubricht leg.; VMNH, NAN0336 • 7 ♂♂ ♀♀ ; Person County, 2 mi SSE Surl, off end of SR 1718 in window wells, Sheets residence; 36.3157°N, - 78.8887°W; 3 Apr. 1999; A. & S. Braswell, R. Sheets leg.; NCSM NAN0547 • 1 ♀ ; Wake County, pond near William B Umstead State Park ; 35.8366°N, - 78.7623°W; elev. 118 m; 17 Apr. 2016; hand collected; J. Means leg.; VTEC MPE02117 • 8 ♂♂ ; Wake County, Raleigh, 209 Lynwood Lane ; 35.8404°N, - 78.6376°W; 15 Mar. 1975; M. Cooper leg.; VMNH NAN0337, 338 • 12 ♂♂ ♀♀ ; same collection data as preceding; 29 Jan. 1975; M. Cooper leg.; NCSM, NAN0549, 550, 552 • 2 ♂ ; Wake County, Raleigh, 1611 Oberlin Rd. ; 35.8036°N, - 78.6582°W; 23 Jan. 1990; D. Stephan leg.; NCSM NAN0546 • 1 ♂ ; Wake County, Raleigh, jct. Athens Dr. & Avent Ferry Rd. ; 35.7674°N, - 78.7066°W; 10 Mar. 1990; R. Shelley leg.; NCSM NAN0550. For detailed collection data see Suppl. material 7 .

Diagnosis.

Adult males of Nannaria conservata are distinct from other Nannaria and the nearby N. hardeni sp. nov. based on the following combination of characters: Gonopods. Gonopodal acropodite gently curving dorsomedially before apex, not medially as in N. hardeni sp. nov.; tip simple, blunt. Telepodite basal zone height <1/2 length of acropodite, not> 1/2 as in N. hardeni sp. nov. Prefemoral process acicular, reduced, not subequal to height of telopodite basal zone and crossing acropodite as in N. hardeni sp. nov. Prefemoral spine acicular and paralleling prefemoral process (Fig. 109B , red arrow), not blunt and widely separated from prefemoral process as in N. hardeni sp. nov. Color. In his redescription of N. conservata , Shelley (1975) describes its color as "olive-brown with a pink epiproct and paranota …” The single female individual collected for this revision conformed to Shelley’s description, but was placed in 100% EtOH in the field not photographed alive.

Measurements.

♂ (VMNH, NAN0388): BL = 21.2, CW = 2.8, IW = 1.6, ISW = 0.8, B11W = 3.2, B11H = 2.3.

Variation.

There is no notable variation between individuals of N. conservata , with the exception of an abnormal male with three gonopods which Shelley (1975) illustrated and discussed.

Distribution.

Known only from a small area around Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina (North Carolina: Person, Orange, Wake and Franklin counties; Suppl. material 7; Fig. 128 ). Distribution area: 1,820 km2; status: SRE.

Ecology.

As no fresh identifiable material was collected for this revision, the authors cannot comment on habitat preference. However, Shelley (1975) noted that specimens were never found in moist areas, and instead were discovered under pine litter and in sandy, dry soils. As Shelley (1975) noted, this is unusual for a majority of xystodesmid species.

Etymology.

Chamberlin (1940) gives no etymology for N. conservata , but the specific name is seemingly a femininization of the Latin conservo, meaning conserve. This may be in reference to the conservation efforts which take place within its type locality, Duke Forest.

Note on clade membership.

The authors were unsuccessful at collecting specimens of Nannaria conservata for the present study, so DNA sequences, molecular phylogenetic relationship, and taxonomic affinities between N. conservata and the rest of the Nannaria minor species group remain unknown. A female specimen from Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina was collected and sequenced, and was placed within the Nannaria paupertas clade. The only species of Nannaria known from Wake County is N. conservata . However, as N. conservata shares none of the gonopodal characters that unite the Nannaria paupertas clade, and in light of the possibility that the female from Wake County represents an undescribed species, the authors refrain from placing N. conservata within the Nannaria paupertas clade and leave the taxonomic affinity of N. conservata to be addressed in a future study.

Type locality.

United States, North Carolina, Durham County, Durham.

Notes.

In the original publication, Chamberlin (1940: 57) did not designate a type, but he describes only a male specimen which is therefore the holotype by monotypy. Chamberlin did not mention the collector of this specimen, but Shelley (1975: 180) reported that the type specimen was collected by N. B. Causey on November 12, 1939.

Figures

Figure 109. Nannaria conservata ♂ (VMNH, NAN 0338) left gonopod A anterior view B medial view; red arrow indicates reduced prefemoral spine paralleling prefemoral process C posterior view. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

Figure 128. Distribution map of Nannaria minor species group collection localities in the Eastern Piedmont and coast.